A week on after Afghanistan’s historic appearance at the World T20, it is a good opportunity to look forward to how Afghanistan cricket can continue to grow and flourish. While they showed promise, determination and a few standout performances, it’s clear that there still has to be a lot of work for Afghanistan. Furthermore, following the severe struggle against the extreme pace of South Africa, it is also obvious that solely playing matches against associate countries isn’t going to help develop Afghanistan batsman for the next time they appear on the world stage.
I know it’s the wish of all the non-test members to play against the big guns, but Afghanistan, who are lacking facilities as well as experience, desperately need matches against the big teams if they are going to continue their rise.
The problem is where are they going to play, and who they are going to play? Well, there is an easy solution to this.
Due to Pakistan’s troubles in playing at home, a lot of their home games will now be played in the Middle East.
You may know that Afghanistan’s new home is also in the Middle East. So, it’s clearly convenient for Afghan cricket if they play matches against Pakistan or against the touring team in the Middle East.
Of course, Pakistan or the touring team aren’t going to be willing to play too many games against Afghanistan, however, they could just play at least one match in the same way England will play one match against Ireland or Scotland every year.
If Afghanistan want a three or five-match series, they could and should be able to arrange a series with Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. Again, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, two developing cricketing nations themselves, are not going to be jumping at this. However, it’s the least they can do. After all, they are always asking for more matches against the established cricket nations, so it should really work both ways. An annual series against either Bangladesh or Zimbabwe and two matches against bigger nations would leave Afghanistan with seven “big” internationals a year.It may not be ideal, but it would still be acceptable for a new cricketing nation like Afghanistan.
If they get the chance to play these nations, there shouldn’t be many worries about whether the Afghans would be competitive: a slow pitch n the Middle East would negate the pace of the fast bowlers the Afghanistan batsmen have trouble with. It would be a stiff challenge, which would still expose Afghanistan to some pace, though not too much that it would leave them embarrassed.
Another route Afghanistan could explore is participating in another country’s domestic tournaments. Obviously, it would have to be in Asia due to money and logistical obstacles. They could get involved in the Plate division (the second division) of India’s first-class competition, the Ranji Trophy. As well, Afghanistan could easily fit into the first-class competition in Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.
Though, it is crucial to remember that Associate competitions should still be the top priority for the Afghan team. Afghanistan should aim to dominate associate cricket. Losing regularly to the likes of Holland and Canada are not going to help their cause for more matches.
